Changes
by acsgrlie
Summary: This is a story of how Ryan came to live with the Cohens. Starting from his life in Fresno with Dawn, his father, Trey, and...a sister? Currently on HIATUS.
1. Changes

Chapter 1: Growing Up

Ryan grimaced as he examined his new bruises in the bathroom mirror. Mike, his father, had just come home drunk, again, and Ryan had forgotten to pick up his toys. Kayla, his 10 year old sister, walked in moments later. She was 2 years younger than Ryan, but they had always been the closest. She had come to live with Ryan when Kayla's real mom left her with her fatherwhen she was a baby. Mike was not capable of raising a 1 year old by himself so he handed her off to Dawn to raise. Dawn had not been happy about this arrangement at first, but if Mike kept bringing in the money, she didn't complain.

Ryan and Kayla had become close over the years even though they were not blood related.

"Is it bad Ry?" she asked meekly.

"No not really. Just stings."

Ryan and Kayla learned over the years, the signs to look for whenever Mike came home. The incoherent mumbling, the wobbly steps he took, and that strange laugh were sure signs that he was drunk. He was fine when he was sober. Sometimes he even took them out for the day and they actually had fun with him. Those were the good times. Ryan, Kayla, Trey, and Mike...just laughing. He was always saying that he was sorry for what he did afterwards, but they knew better. They would try their best to stay out of his way when they saw the signs, but sometimes they couldn't help it.Ryan had knocked over his puzzle as he was putting it away and Mike was not happy about it. He smashed in Ryan's cheek pretty good and took his belt and hit him in the back. They had learned to protect each other whenever Mike had these rages and smuggled in a first aid kit from school when the nurse wasn't looking.

"Here let me." she offered, taking out the cotton balls and peroxide and gently dabbing Ryan's bleeding welts. Ryan flinched once the peroxide touched his skin, but soon relaxed.

"There. That should do it." Kayla concluded, packing the peroxide and cotton balls back into their proper place.

"Thanks." Ryan smiled.

Ryan loved having a sister around. Trey, his older brother, 13, was never in the house much. He was usually out with his friends somewhere. Sometimes, he would bring Kayla and Ryan with him and they would go share a smoke somewhere or get high, but Ryan tried not to do it that much. He didn't want his sister to live like this.

"C'mon, we better get to bed," Kayla said."You don't want dad to get even madder."

They walked down the hall to their room as quietly as they could. They passed their mother's room and saw that she was staring lazily in bed and had a glazed look over her eyes. Ryan and Kayla had seen that look all too often and knew she'd be out for a few days. Kayla knew Dawn was not her real mom, but she was the closest thing she had to the real thing.

Once inside their room, Kayla slid the kit underneath her bed, making sure no one would find it. They both quickly slid into bed to escape from this nightmare that they called home. Their room was relatively small,with two beds on separate walls, a desk, small closet, and a dresser, but Ryan and Kayla didn't whine. They knew they were lucky to have a bed, let alone a room, at all.

"G'night Ry. Love you."

"G'night Kay. Love you, too."

4 Years Later

"Mom, what's going on?" Ryan yelled,walking out of his room. His dad was bound with handcuffs at his wrists and being led out the door by 2 policemen. Another stayed in the house to explain the situation.

"Ryan, SHHH!" glared his mother, turning her attention back to the cop "Now tell me what the hell is going on here!"

"Your husband has been charged with an armed robbery. A trial date has not been set yet, but you will be notified when it is." the officer explained.

"Wait just a fuckin' minute! You can't just come in here and take my husband away!" Dawn slurred, an empty beer bottle in her hand.

"Now ma'am, calm down. It will probably be within the next few weeks."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." said Dawn, flicking him off.

"Well, g'day to ya, then." he said, retreating towards the door.

"Mom...what happened?" Ryan asked again, cautiously.

"Oh, your dumbass father fucked up again! Why is he always doing this to me?" she wailed, falling into the sofa.

"It's gonna be ok mom. I'm here." soothed Ryan, sitting down next to her, rocking her.

Dawn continued to whimper in Ryan's arms until he led her back to bed. He then walked into his own room to find Kayla still sleeping.

'_She can sleep through anything',_he thought, and gave a slight chuckle.

"Kay, c'mon honey. Wake up." he whispered, rubbing her shoulder.

"Hmmmm..." she groaned groggily, the slightest slit opening in her eyes.

"Baby, dad's been arrested for armed robbery. His court date hasn't been set yet." Ryan said rather bluntly.

"What's gonna happen?" Kayla asked, now fully awake, sitting up.

"I don't know. We won't know anything for a couple of weeks."

"Oh." was all she said, looking down at her sheets.

"Let's go. I'll make us some breakfast."

Ryan and Kayla walked into the kitchen, and Ryan took out some eggs and bacon. Kayla absolutely loved his eggs, and even if she didn't, she didn't have much choice but to eat them. Ryan was the only one who really cooked in their house. Kayla helped him as often as she could. She knew that Ryan was only 16 and he was carrying way too much responsibility as it is.

They sat down to eat their breakfast as Trey walked in the door. He was 17 now and out of the house more than usual, since he could now drive.

"Hey guys, what's for breakfast?" he asked, scoping the kitchen for scraps.

"There's some extra bacon in the pan." Ryan said.

"Excellent. Hey, what's the matter Kay?" Trey asked, seeing her sullen face.

"Dad got arrested this morning." Ryan said shortly.

"Oh, I see." Trey nodded and kneeled down to her level. "He'll be alright, sweetie. This isn't hisfirst run-in with the law. I bet he'll be gracing us with his presence anytime now."

"Really?" Kayla asked.

She knew she was being stupid, but she cared about him. He was her father and the only real parent she had left.

"You betcha." Trey smiled and winked at Ryan. He knew Trey had only said that stuff to make Kayla feel better. The truth was, their dad could go to jail for a long time. Trey and Kayla hugged for a second and he took off again.

2 Weeks Later

Kayla, Ryan, Dawn, and Trey sat in the courtroom awaiting the jury's verdict.

"We, the jury, find the defendant, Mr. Mike Atwood, guilty on all counts."

"NOO!" bellowed Dawn and hung her head in her hands.

Ryan, Trey, and Kayla watched as their father was led away in handcuffs.

"Mr. Atwood, the court hereby sentences you to7 years with the possibility of parole in5 years."

Kayla buried her face in Ryan's shoulder as Trey tried to console Dawn.

Ryan and Trey had always been the ones to go to for comfort. They had never been good at showing their emotions, but everyone seemed to run to them with theirs.


	2. Surprise

Chapter 2

A Few Months later

" Mom, what's going on?" Ryan asked as he and Kayla stepped in the door, just coming home from school.

"We're getting out of here. I can't take living here anymore. Too many memories of you dad and…anyway, I found a cheaper place. Nicer. In Chino. It's not that far from here." Dawn explained, attempting a smile and forcing a small chuckle.

Ryan looked around the living room. Clothes were stuffed in cardboard boxes lined up against the walls and most of the furniture was missing. Ryan looked out through the window to see that most of it had been thrown into the yard.

"There's just one problem." Dawn started and kneeled down in front of Kayla. "Honey, you know I love you. I will always love you, but I can't support 3 kids on my salary. I'm barely making it by as it is. You could have a better life staying here. You know Linda and Gary? They've offered to take you in."

Kayla just stood there. Too numb to speak, though tears were forming in her eyes.

"You…you're leaving me here?" she asked dumbfounded.

"Baby, I know this may not be easy now, but it's for the best." Dawn said, grabbing her shoulderse.

Kayla shook free of her hold and continued to bore her eyes into her. Looks of anger, sadness, and betrayal in her eyes.

"No Dawn! I don't want to leave my family! I want to stay with all of you. Please don't' leave me! Please!" begged Kayla, tears now falling freely from her eyes.

"You can't do this mom! Kayla belongs with us! She has no one left. You can't just abandon her!" yelled Ryan, stepping in front of Kayla.

"Please try to understand. I'm trying to do what I think is best. We won't be separated forever. We can still see each other. Chino's only a hour away at the most." reasoned Dawn.

"No mom! Please!"

"I'm sorry Kay. But I can't, I just can't. Now go to your room and finish packing. I've already got a few boxes out here. Linda and Gary will be here soon."

Kayla stood there for a few seconds and then ran off down the hallway. Ryan tore after her, giving death glares to his mother. Hew found his baby sister lying on her bed, face squished in her pillow. Ryan's heart was breaking from seeing his sister hurt like this and knowing they wouldn't be together for a while.

"Shh…shh…it's alright. I'll come back as soon as I can. You like Gary and Linda. They're nice." Soothed Ryan, trying to see some light in the present situation.

Kayla sat up and wrapped her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"I love you Ryan. You're the best brother ever." Kayla said sobbing. She never wanted to let go.

"I love you too."

The moment was interrupted by the sound of Dawn's voice from the living room.

"Kay, Linda and Gary are here."

Head down, Kayla gathered up the last of her things and shoved them in her book bag. Ryan put his arm around her and walked out of their room.

Dawn's friends stood in the center of the living room. Linda was a medium-sized woman with black curly hair, in her mid 30's. Gary was a big, surly man with a moustache and thick brown hair. Kayla knew perfectly why she was being taken in by them. Linda couldn't have any kids, but the whole neighborhood knew they had been trying for months.

"You about ready Kayla?" asked Linda.

Kayla nodded, not able to find her voice.

Dawn grabbed her into a hug and didn't seem to notice that Kayla did not grab her back.

"Well, we better get going." Rushed Linda, grabbing her boxes and handing them to Gary.

Kayla rushed to wipe the escaping tears from her face and ran back to Ryan, jumping in his arms once again. They shared a silent moment until he set her down and told her to go and be brave. He also reminded her that he'd come and visit her soon.

She nodded in response, picked up her backpack, and walked with Linda and Gary to their car. They lived a few blocks away, but Dawn had told them earlier about the boxes and that it'd be easier to bring the car than to walk.

Kayla continued to look back at the house. Her "home" and concentrated hard on Ryan's words. It took all her strength to resist the urge of running back when Ryan and Dawn walked out of the house. Gary loaded her stuff into the trunk and they set off. Kayla looked back once more, locking eyes with Ryan and saying their silent goodbyes. Once they turned the block and she couldn't see him anymore, Kayla turned around and tried to stop the snuffling.

"Now don't be sad. I know this is hard for you, but this is a new start. We'll treat you like you were our own." Said Linda.

Gary shifted uncomfortably in the driver's seat and mumbled something under his breath.

Kayla was thinking of Ryan and just remembered she hadn't said good-bye to Trey when the car stopped and Kayla saw her knew home. Or was it a new hell?


	3. New Surroundings

**Chapter3**

Ryan felt like his heart was being ripped out of him as he watched his sister drive away.

"Where's Trey?" asked Ryan, 'He should be here.'

"He already left." Replied Dawn.

"He didn't want to say goodbye to Kay?"

"I don't know. I don't know what that boy is fucking thinking anymore." Said Dawn. "Not go get your stuff. We're leaving in a few minutes."

Her now house wasn't much different from her old home, just a little cleaner.

'I think all the houses in Fresno have the same setup.' Kayla thought looking around.

"You can have the room on the 2nd left, down the hallway." Linda said.

Kayla nodded. Everything was all too familiar. Gary took his usual place in his chair in front of the television, reminding Kayla of her father when he was drunk. Drugs were stashed in corners and drawers around the house. The only difference was that she was all alone now.

Kayla dragged her boxes to her room and looked around. There wasn't much, but it did have a bed. She immediately flopped on it, dropping her belongings on the floor. Hearing the sound of broken glass, she stopped and looked through the box to find an old picture frame. In it was a picture of Ryan, Trey, and herself a year ago, on her 13th birthday. Her brothers had taken her out to the park for ice cream and it was so nice not having anyone there to bother or punish them.

Kayla smiled at her thoughts and laid down to sleep.

Ryan looked lazily out the winder and blocked out his mother's babbling voice.

'How can she be so normal? She just abandoned her daughter!' Ryan thought, repulsed.

Dawn noticed Ryan's mood and the tense atmosphere in the car and kept trying to push it out of her mind. 'I did the right thing…I did the right thing…'

"Listen Ry, I know that you're upset with me now, but in time you'll see that I did the right thing for all of us."

"How can you say that mom? She's your only daughter and you just dropped her like she was nothing." Said Ryan.

Dawn shook her unwanted tears away and stared forward. Ryan looked back out of the window in anger.

"It's gonna be different now. You'll see." Said Dawn.

"Yeah, I bet it is." Scoffed Ryan, sarcastically.

Sorry about the short chapter. the next one will be much longer, promise! REVIEW!


	4. Settling In

Chapter 4

Chino was not much different than Fresno. Same houses. Same drugs. Same…problems. Trey was already at the house when Ryan and Dawn pulled up. A heavy, muscular man was standing outside the house on the lawn.

"Hey baby." He said, planting one on Dawn's lips as she stepped out of the car.

"Hey. AJ, this is Ryan." Said Dawn, pointing to him on her right.

"Hey man." AJ greeted.

Ryan just nodded in return and motioned to Trey that they needed to talk inside. Trey led him to his room and they sat down on the floor, since no furniture was in it, and sighed.

"Can you believe mom's doing this to us? No warning." Trey complained.

"Tell me about it. And don't even get me started on Kayla."

"Why? Hey, where is she?" asked Trey, realizing for the first time that she wasn't in the car with Ryan and Dawn.

"Mom left her in Fresno. Didn't she tell you?"  
"No! Shit! That's so fuckin messed up, dude!" said Trey, clearly surprised by the news.

"I know. I'm gonna go back and visit her tomorrow. You wanna come?"

"Yeah, I'm in. I can't believe mom could do that to her. I hope she's okay."

"Yeah, me too."

NEXT DAY

Kayla awoke the next morning in a whole new atmosphere. Remembering her present situation, all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed, but knowing that it wouldn't look good to her new guardians; Kayla reluctantly got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen.

"It's about time." Commented Gary and she entered.

"Give her a break Gary. She had a rough day yesterday." Scolded Linda, glaring at her husband. "Here, sit down and have some eggs honey."

Kayla took a seat at the table and smiled nostalgically at the meal placed in front of her.

"Something wrong Kayla?" asked Linda, noticing her hesitation.

"No, it's nothing. It's just that Ryan and I used to make breakfast together most of the time. He made the best eggs."

Linda offered a warm smile, but Gary, overhearing the conversation, retorted with a not so nice comment.

"That's your old life. I'll have no more talk of that in my house. We were kind enough to take you in and I don't want to hear about you wishing you lived somewhere else."

Linda bore holes into him with her stare and Kayla tried to ignore him, eating her eggs.

"Don't worry about it honey. You just need time. Everything will work out fine, you'll see."

Kayla managed a slight smile and excused herself from the table.  
"Ya know, I'm surprised he even cooked at all. It's a wonder how he's not a low-life druggie like his brother." Said Gary.

"That's not true!" Kayla shouted, turning around to face him.

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me!" he yelled back at her, rising up from the couch.

Before she could back away, his hand came down hard on her cheek. Linda stopped him from coming down a second time.

"Gary don't!"

"Out of the way!" her ranted, throwing her aside.

"Never raise your voice to me again! I never wanted you so I don't expect any trouble from you!" threatened Gary, staring at Kayla.

She nodded and Gary stalked away, grunting.

Linda picked herself up and told Kayla to go to her room after giving her some ice for her cheek.

'What a wonderful morning it's been.' Thought Kayla. Deciding that fresh air would be the best thing right now, she quickly got dressed and snuck out her window to the nearby park. Sitting on a bench, she started thinking about her new life when a tan car pulled up in front of her.

"Ryan! Trey!" she yelled excitedly, seeing them step out of the car.

"Hey! I've missed you!" said Trey, running up to hug her.

"I've missed you too. Where were you yesterday?"

"Mom never told me that she intended to leave you behind. If she had, you know I would've been there."

"I know." Smiled Kayla.

"Hey, told you I'd visit." Said Ryan, coming up from behind Trey, giving her a hug.

Kayla returned the hug and smiled, glad that they both came to see her.

When the Ryan and Kayla broke apart, Trey noticed a handprint on her cherry red cheek.

"What happened Kay?" he asked.

"Oh," said Kayla, trying to quickly cover her cheek with her hair. "It's nothing."

"It was Gary. Wasn't it?" accused Ryan.

Kayla nodded, knowing Ryan was going to see through whatever lie she came up with.

"Son of a bitch," said Trey. "I'll take care of him."

"No. Don't." said Kayla stepping in front of him. "He just didn't like me talking about my past. Please don't make it worse."

"Okay." Said Trey reluctantly, staring down at his sister.

The three siblings spent the rest of the day just being together. Ryan felt terrible that Kayla's home life hadn't improved, but knew that if she came home with them, things wouldn't be much better.

Around 6 o'clock, the boys figured on heading back.

"Bye Kay. Love you." Said Ryan.

"Love you, too."

"Call us if you need us." Said Trey.

"I will." Replied Kayla.

They exchanged their goodbye hugs and Trey and Ryan set off back to Chino. The ride was silent, with the brothers thinking about their sister's predicament.

Trey pulled quietly into the driveway and got out of the car. Ryan followed lazily. He didn't even notice a basketball roll up by his feet until he almost tripped over it.

"Hey. Over here!" called a female voice.

Ryan looked over at her. There was no doubt that she was attractive. Her long dark hair complemented her dark oval eyes and she didn't look too bad in sweats. You could still see that she had a slender, but muscular body.

Ryan snapped out of his gaze before she called him on it and picked up the ball and threw it over to her.

"Thanks. You new around here?" she asked, jogging over to him.

"Yeah. Moved here yesterday."

"Interesting," she smiled, extending her hand. "I'm Teresa."

"Ryan." He said, shaking it.

They stared at each other for a brief moment until someone called her name from next door.

"Coming mama!" she yelled back. "Well, I better get going. I just live over there, so stop by sometime."

"I'll do that." Smiled Ryan.

Throughout the following year, Ryan and Teresa dated off and on. Mostly on. Teresa's brother, Arturo, and Trey became fast friends too. They mostly bonded over drugs and deals though. During the summer going into his junior year though, Ryan broke it off with Teresa.

He continued to visit his sister, but over the past few months, it was by himself. Trey found himself involved in these impossible situations and could never find the time to get away.

Kayla's life hadn't really improved. Freshman year was worse than expected. Sure she had friends, but mostly kept to herself, not wanting anyone to find out what was happening at home. Her brothers' visits had become less frequent and she hoped that they weren't busy getting themselves into trouble.

That night, Ryan and Trey were walking home from a party at Ray's, one of Trey's friends, when Trey stopped and stared at an abandoned car on the side of the street.

Walking towards the driver's door, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around his hand.

"I'm your big brother. If I don't teach you this, who will?" he asked rhetorically, staring at Ryan.

Punching the window with his fist and getting into the car, he yelled for Ryan to get into the passenger's side.

"I don't know Trey."

"Stop being a bitch! Get In!"

Ryan looked around nervously, trying to see a way out of this mess, when a police car drove by on the main street. Trey yelled again for Ryan to get in. The police car turned down the street and Ryan had no choice but to get in the car.

Ryan worriedly looked back at the police car while Trey was dodging the oncoming traffic and speeding through the intersection.

"Haha, you should see your face man!" Trey laughed at him.

Trying to avoid an accident, Trey swirved hard to the right, lost control, and hit a big garbage bin.

Not even having enough time to recover from the shock of the crash, the boys heard sirens and were led away in handcuffs to juvenile hall.

K? What'd ya all think? Should I continue after this?


	5. The Cohens

Chapter 5: The Cohens

Ryan spent the night behind bars and met with his public defender, Sandy Cohen the next morning.

"Ryan. I'm Sandy Cohen." He said, extending his hand.

Ryan, being in no mood, ignored his gesture and sat down on the metal seat.

"Where's my brother?" asked Ryan.

"Trey…." Sighed Sandy, looking through some papers. 'Trey stole a car, Trey had a bag of coke in his pants, Trey has a record. So far, it looks like Trey's looking at 3 – 5 years."

Ryan rolled his eyes back and thought of what Dawn would do about this one.

"But Trey is not my concern. You are." Said Sandy, staring Ryan in the face. 'Your grades…are not great. But your SAT scores…98th percentile on your SAT's once! Have you thought about college?"

"College?" Ryan laughed. 'This guy's not from around here!' he thought to himself.

"You have so much potential. Don't you have a dream?"

"Lemme tell you something, ok. Around here having a dream doesn't make you smart. Knowing it won't come true…that does." Stated Ryan.

Sandy had Ryan out within the hour and waited with him for his mother.

"My office'll call you to remind you about the hearing." Said Sandy.

"I'll remember."

A white car came roaring down the street, stopping in front of the detention center. Sandy noticed Ryan step back further from the edge of the street, whether it was out of fear or embarrassment, or both, he was not sure.

A furious blond stepped out of the car ranting about her family and what she deserves.

"Mrs. Atwood. I'm Sandy Cohen. I'm Ryan's attorney." Said Sandy, introducing himself.

"You should let him rot inn there. Just like his dad's doing. Just like his brother's gonna. Get in the car Ryan. Now Ryan!" yelled Dawn, getting back in the car.

Sandy, naturally getting a bad vibe from the woman offered Ryan one of his business cards, also writing his home phone number on the back, a number he did not give out to every client.

"Ryan!"

"Alright!" yelled Ryan back at his mom, taking the card from Sandy.

Sandy watched them speed away having a good feeling that that wasn't the last time he would see Ryan Atwood.

Dawn continued to chide Ryan all the way home.

"Mom, I'm sorry." Said Ryan for the millionth time, walking into the living room.

"I can't do this anymore Ryan. I can't." said Dawn, pouring herself a drink.

"I'm sorry."

"I want you out of my house!"

Ryan looked up at her, not believing what she just said.

"Wha…Mom! Where am I supposed to go?"

"You heard your mother. Just get your stuff and get out." Said AJ, from the cushioned chair in front of the TV.

"Hey this isn't your house man!" retorted Ryan.

"Oh, so you a tough guy now?" teased AJ, rising and closing in on Ryan.

"Why don't you go back to your own kids AJ? Instead of freeloading off my mom!"

Ryan regretted the words when a fist collided with his jaw. He briefly heard his mother yelling at AJ to stop, but a missed punch by him and his body fell into card table, breaking it and falling to the ground.

Dawn couldn't bear to watch and lit up a cigarette and AJ dragged Ryan to his room and watched him pack his things.

Ryan packed his clothes into his backpack, hopped on his bike, and took off. Knowing he needed a place to stay for the night, he stopped at the closest pay phone and called several friends.

"Hey Art, can I crash with you tonight?"

"Nah man. I'm still a little hung over and my ma's not feelin to hot tonight." Explained Arturo.

"Alright. Bye."

"Hey Ray. Can I crash with you tonight?"

"Sorry man. Not tonight. Try Arturo's place."

"I already tried it!" shouted Ryan getting agitated.

Taking out some of his anger on the phone, he stepped back to search his pockets for more money. Finding Sandy's card, along with some change, he figured it was worth a shot.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Cohen?"

"Ryan, is that you?"

"Yeah. I'm in some trouble. My mom kicked me out and I got nowhere to stay."

"I'll be right there. Where are you?"

Ryan gave him the street the phone was on and waited for about 45 minutes until a black Lexus pulled up.

"I told you. You could do worse."

Packing his bike in the trunk, Ryan was relatively quiet on the ride to Newport.

"I didn't know your kind of lawyer made money." Commented Ryan, examining the car.

"I don't. My wife does." Smiled Sandy.

It was night by the time they reached the Cohen driveway. Ryan was about to get out of the car when Sandy held him back.

"Maybe you should wait here for awhile."

Sandy hesitated after taking the keys out of the ignition.

Noticing this, Ryan said sighing, "It's no fun if the keys are in the car."

Sandy, knowing he could trust him, put the keys back in and walked into his mansion, meeting his wife in the kitchen.

Ryan, not wanting to wait in the car any longer, walked down the driveway to have a smoke.

He noticed a very slender, brown haired girl standing to his right, obviously waiting for someone. She noticed Ryan in turn.

"Hey can I bum a cigarette?"

Ryan wandered over to her and gave her a light.

"Thanks. So who are you?" she asked.

"Whoever you want me to be." Smiled Ryan.

"Okay." Said Marissa strangely.

Ryan figured it wouldn't hurt and began to tell her the truth.

"I stole a car. Crashed it. Actually my brother did. Mom kicked me out since she was drunk. Mr. Cohen took me in."

"You're the cousin from Boston right?" assumed Marissa, not falling for what she thought was his way to turn her on.

"Yeah. Right." Confirmed Ryan.

"Hey honey. I'm home." Greeted Sandy.

"Hey." Smiled Kirsten, walking up to greet her husband and allowed him to kiss her cheek. "How was your day?"

"Oh you know. Same old same old." Replied Sandy trying to figure out the best way to tell his wife about the surprise he bought home.

"So I had to go to Chino today."

"Chino?"

"Yeah, I had to sort out a young kid. He was basically there due to his brother. First time."

"How did everything go?"

"Well, I bought him home." Said Sandy cautiously.

"You bought him home?" said Kirsten aghast. "What were you thinking? Did you even think of Seth?"

"Of course I did. I think it'll be good for him to get to know someone outside of this Newport bubble. And maybe he'll make a real friend."

"What if this is just a scam and he's using you to case the house?"

Sandy raised his bushman eyebrows at his wife skeptically. "He's not a criminal mastermind. He's a kid who's got no one and no where to go."

"What about his family?"

"What family? His mom is in no shape to raise him, let alone take care of herself and the dad and brother are now in jail. He's got no one left."

Kirsten moved around Sandy and started walking deeper into the house.

"Where are you going?"

"To put my jewelry in the vault." Joked Kirsten. "Oh, where do you think I'm going? The boy's gonna need some new sheets and a toothbrush. And he stays in the poolhouse."

Sandy smiled proudly at his wife, knowing she would always do the right thing when it came down to it. He headed back out to the car, waiting to tell Ryan the good news. He just wished that it would last for more than just the weekend. He saw too many cases where the kid was just gonna head back into the same environment and end up back in juvie again.

Sandy spotted Marissa when he came down to the end of the driveway.

"Hey Mr. Cohen. I was just meeting your nephew."

Sandy momentarily noticed the cigarette she was smoking fall to the ground but was shook out of his thoughts by her statement.

"Right. My favorite nephew from Seattle."

"Seattle, huh?" laughed Marissa.

"Dad's in Seattle. Mom lives in Boston." Said Ryan, trying to recover his story.

"Right."

A black truck roared up the private street and put a pause to their conversation. Marissa, recognizing the truck, smiled at the sight.

"C'mon. Let's go." Instructed the boy inside, looking at Marissa.

"Hey, I'm hosting a fashion show tomorrow night. You should come, if you want." Hinted Marissa.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Ok. See ya there." Smiled Marissa at Ryan. "Bye Mr. Cohen."

"Good night Marissa."

Sandy and Ryan began walking back to the house after Ryan threw away his cigarette. Sandy lead him back towards the pool house and found his wife and Rosa inside preparing the bed.

"May I introduce my wife and the queen of the manor, Kirsten."

Kirsten offered a warm smile at Ryan and welcomed him to their home.

"If you need anything, just ask Rosa." Said Kirsten, pointing to the shorter Latino woman pulling on the comforter.

"Thank you. Thank you very much." Said Ryan, still shocked from seeing the whole inside of the house and the poolhouse.

They all left him for the night and Ryan looked around not believing his luck. Luck had never been good with the Atwoods. Thinking about Marissa and Chino his thoughts turned toward Theresa. Dialing her private number (A/N: there IS a phone in the pool house) he quickly explained to her what happened today.

"I better go. I don't want to run up her bill."

"Ok. Just be careful Ryan." Said Theresa.

"I will."

Ryan hung up first and climbed into bed, not believing his luck for the moment.

The following morning

Kayla was surprised to see Gary come home so early this morning

"That little pussy! Goes and fires me when he knows I need this money!"

Linda ran up to her husband to try and comfort him but Gar pushed her away and sat down on the couch angrily. Obeying his orders, Linda ran to get him a beer.

Kayla, who had been sitting quietly on the chair beside Gary, tried to move silently to her room without causing too much attention to herself.

"Where do you think you're going? Get back here!" Ordered Gary, grabbing the back of her shirt, spinning her around.

"This is all your fault! Before you came along everything was fine."

Linda started crying in the corner of the table, not being able to bear watching the scene unfold in front of her eyes.

Gary slammed her back against the wall and started holding her neck to keep her above the floor. While strangling her out of rage, he took a swig of beer with his other hand.

Using all the strength she could muster, Kayla forced her legs up and made contact with something solid.

Gary yelped out in pain and dropped Kayla to the ground. Holding his crotch, he started yelling at her again.

"You little bitch!"

Kayla tried to crawl away, but Gary hit her over her head with his beer bottle and she stopped moving, dazed.

He continued hitting and kicking her, not caring abut her whispered pleads for him to stop.

The last thing Kayla saw was Linda rushing over to her before darkness overpowered her.


	6. Finding You

Chapter 6: Finding You

Kayla awoke 3 days later still in the hallway, lying on her stomach. It was night and Kayla attempted to make her way to her room. Using shelves as supports, Kayla got herself into a standing position, ignoring the searing pain from her abdomen and right wrist, carefully made her way to her room. Passing by Linda and Gary's room, she silently noted to herself that they were both sleeping off a hangover.

Packing her things in the same boxes and backpack she used a year ago, she decided that she couldn't stay there any longer. She gently placed the pack on her shoulders, groaning as the weight began to set in, putting pressure on her bruises. Pushing the boxes on the floor towards the door, she called for a cab and put her boxes in the trunk.

"Where to?" he asked looking through the rearview mirror.

"Chino."

It had taken about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Dawn's current address. Kayla knew she was taking a risk showing up so unexpectedly, but she had no other choice. She was really here to see Ryan anyway. Taking her bags, she paid the cabbie with the money she was saving under her mattress the past year, just incase she was ever in a situation like this.

She was about to ring the bell when she noticed the door was unlocked. Stepping in, her heart fell upon the sight of the empty house. Again, Dawn just picked up and moved. Hopefully Ryan was okay. Her last ray of hope gone, she walked out of the desolate house only to see a girl standing in the yard.

"Hey, you Kayla?"she asked.

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"Theresa. I live next door."

"Oh. He's told me about you."

Theresa came walking towards her to get a better look at her.

"If you're looking for Ryan he's not here anymore. He told me a lot about you too. " smiled Theresa.

"Oh. Where is he?"

"Newport. He called me a few days ago."

"Newport?" Kayla asked shocked. "What the hell is he doing there?"

Theresa proceeded to explain what had happened to him at the time that Kayla was unconscious.

"Oh my God. I have to get there."

"Yeah, I hope he's doing okay." Said Theresa.

"Me too."

Kayla called another cab and this time Theresa helped her lift her bags in.

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem. You should really take care of that wrist." Instructed Theresa, looking down at the now blue and purple joint.

"Yeah I know. I haven't had the chance." Said Kayla, getting in the cab.

"Tell him to take care, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Theresa...and…thanks."

Theresa just nodded and shut the door.

Before the cabbie could say anything Kayla muttered "Newport Beach. And step on it."

By the time Kayla arrived in Newport, it was late afternoon and she was extremely tired from not getting any sleep all night and the pain of her wounds was becoming unbearable. She asked the cabbie to take her to any motel he knew of in Newport Beach and decided to get rested and clean herself up before she went to look for Ryan. Theresa hadn't given her an address after all. Pulling up to the Mermaid Inn, Kayla immediately fell into bed, too tired to think of anything else.

The next day, went around the pier asking anyone for Sandy Cohen. She got a few weird looks, but finally someone knew where to find him. Getting an address, she was filed with a new sense of hope.

Kayla headed back to the hotel and tried to hide some of the bruises on her face with her make-up case. The swelling of her lip was starting to go down but she still had a few bad scratches. Doing her best, and packing some clothes into her backpack, she hailed yet another taxi and entered the private gates.

She stood before the wooden doors searching for enough courage to knock. After a few minutes, she rang the doorbell and an older-looking man appeared on the other side of the door. He had graying hair and rather large eyebrows, Kayla noticed.

"Why hello." Sandy greeted.

"Hi. Does Sandy Cohen live here?" she said quietly.

"Here he is. What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Ryan Atwood. I'm his sister."


End file.
